My invention relates to the art of shelving. A shelf has been generally defined as a thin, flat, usually long and narrow, piece of wood or other material fastened horizontally (as on a wall) to hold objects. A shelf can also be a form such as a flat projecting layer of rock.
Shelves are generally readily recognizable. They are shelves and nothing more. They normally have visible means of support and a visible mounting structure. Most known mounting structures are very difficult to install and once installed, can not be moved in order to adjust the relationship between one shelf and another. There has been limited effort at developing a shelf structure which is unique in appearance, which serves both a functional and a decorative purpose, which completely hides its mounting structure, which is strong and steady in its connection to a wall or other mounting surface, and which can be adjusted from side to side. Side to side adjustability is significant because it allows one to arrange one shelf in relationship to another or a shelf in relationship to some other object without having to remove the mounting, relocate the mounting and repair the attendant marring of the mounting wall as a result of having to move the shelf from one location to another.
Shelves are used to display personal items in the home and office as well as for display purposes in retail and wholesale product outlets. Particularly in the retail marketplace, it would be desirable to have a shelving system which could be easily adjusted, easily interchanged with other shelving shapes, colors, and forms and which would be steady and secure in the support of the object being displayed. It is also desirable in such a shelving structure to have a shelf that can serve as a bracket on which to mount another shelf of greater dimension and capacity. Many times it would be desirable to reorient the direction of the shelf, to invert the shelf, or rotate it by 90 degrees in order to create a different visual impression for the display being exhibited on the shelf. Such a system would be most desirable in the retail marketing industry and yet has not been readily available in a style and at a cost that is practical. This invention helps to overcome these shortcomings in the shelving art.